A drug that mimics the effect of alcohol without creating a hangover is being
developed by a former government adviser

A drug that mimics the effect of alcohol without creating a hangover is being developed by a former government adviser.

Prof David Nutt said the discovery would lead to a revolution in health. But he needed funding to continue his research.

He claimed the drug would do for alcohol what the e-cigarette had done for smoking.

He called on the Government to give an “explicit recommendation” in support of the drug to encourage investment. His innovation could save the NHS millions.

The drug targets the brain to give the taker feelings of pleasure similar to the effects of drinking. However, an antidote can block the sensations immediately, leaving the user free to drive or return to work.

Prof Nutt resigned from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 2009 after a clash over policy.

He said alcohol killed 1.5 million people a year and 10 per cent of drinkers became addicts. He predicted that side effects from drinking such as memory loss could be circumvented by the new drug.

However, he warned that investors remained wary due to the uncertainty of the Government’s position. He told the Dragon’s Den presenter Evan Davis on Radio 4’s Today programme today that he was not surprised that no one in the drinks industry wanted to fund his research.

Prof Nutt said the drug could be taken in a range of cocktails. “I’ve done the prototype experiments myself,” he said. “I’ve been inebriated and then it’s been reversed by the antagonist.

“That’s what really gave us the idea. There’s no question that you can produce a whole range of effects like alcohol by manipulating the brain.”

Emily Robinson, the deputy chief executive of the charity Alcohol Concern, questioned Prof Nutt’s call for the Coalition to support his research.

“We would urge caution on this,” she said. “We agree that alcohol is a serious burden to the country. But we would urge the Government to invest in policies that we know work, such as minimum unit pricing and advertising restrictions.

“We should focus on what is going wrong in our drinking culture rather than swapping potentially one addictive substance for another.”

Claire Fox, the director of the Institute of Ideas, an organisation that promotes discussion on public policy including drug legislation, criticised the BBC’s decision to give a platform to the professor. “It was outrageous,” she said. “Nobody else would get away with it would they?

“If someone else went on and just said: 'I am here to get investment in my company’ the BBC wouldn’t let that [happen].”

She said the broadcast was “a kind of lobbying disguised as a science item” given that Prof Nutt could benefit from the policy change.

A BBC spokesman said the subject was of interest to its audience.

“Prof David Nutt was interviewed about a drug which he claimed could mimic the sensation of alcohol without the health risks,” he said.

“He was questioned about the potential complications involved and it was made clear to listeners that his research was at the early stages because he had not yet obtained funding for the project.”